Conversations with Barry Greff

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Barry Greff.

Hi Barry, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started enjoying Art as a young boy having applied to a drawing contest before I was 10 years old. Joyfully, I was accepted for the winning prize which was a Drawing Course (later, it became apparent that everyone probably was accepted). Nevertheless, that boosted my confidence and desire to follow an artistic path. Additionally, my parents carried cameras with them on our vacations so subconsciously I was watching them shoot photos, both family portraits and scenics from a very early age.

My first Camera was a Kodak Instamatic with flash-cubes. Those Cubes were like gold to me since each side of the cube represented one interior photo, and after four photos, the cube was gone and at a young age I couldn’t readily replace them. I continued to draw throughout my youth but was frustrated that I was very limited in the overall scenes I was able to create.

Fast forward to College at the University of Miami wherein I drove South on US 1 on weekends and rented professional underwater camera equipment to re-kindle my love for Photography. I photographed while diving in the Florida Keys individual fish as well as coral reef scenes. I enjoyed that very much and eventually purchased a Minolta SLR Camera to shoot above water. I believed in my images early on, never limiting myself to being a simple snapshot shooter.

So, with that confidence, I began submitting to photo contests that had publication as a reward. My first success came with my first Contest and first two submissions in what was then called Zoo Life Magazine, which is now defunct. Although I had no notice, when I opened the Magazine the next month, to my delight, both images were chosen for an award.

One image was actually used for a vertical half-page Ad for the Magazine. Even though the publication did not pay me or even give me credit, I was absolutely hooked. Seeing my work published, and for the purpose of selling a magazine, no less, gave me tremendous confidence. Corroborating my belief that I was a good Photographer, and not just because my friends a family said so.

I continued to submit images to magazines, Books, etc. Eventually, I was getting published as Stock Imagery being used for Articles, and additional Advertisements and being paid from $150 to $1,500 respectively. Soon thereafter I started to believe that my best work could be considered Fine Art and I submitted to many Galleries around the U.S.

I began getting accepted into prestigious Galleries around the Country. Mason Murer in Atlanta, the late Hal Gould’s Camera Obscura Gallery in Denver (where he told me that his contemporaries Ansel Adams and Edward Weston couldn’t sell their images for $25 when now they could sell upwards of $250K)! Hal was a true photographic Historian and he exhibited my work with some of the great Photographers of our time. I went on to be exhibited at the Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, CO six times via four different Jurors.

Many of the biggest names in Photography began to select my work for exhibition: world-famous Photographer Joyce Tenneson, renowned Collector/Gallerist W.M. Bill Hunt (formerly of Hasted-Hunt Gallery); the amazing Photographer Robert Farber (whose first book was with Jackie Kennedy-Onassis for Double Day) have all supported my work, amongst so many others. Robert came to my solo exhibition in New York City, an accomplishment that many Photographers never get to experience.

My work has received numerous Awards, significant Recognition, Publication, etc. Canon Cameras has used my work for advertising. Ogilvy & Mathers (the largest Advertising Agency in the world at the time) used my work for one of their main offices, even though they had dozens of major photographers on Contract. National Geographic placed my work on their website. The Editors of Popular Photography (POP PHOTO) listed me as one of the Great Wildlife and also, Best Travel Photographers.

My work has since been collected around the United States for Beautiful Homes, Apartments, Offices, Hospitals, and even a Yacht. I have sold as far as Australia and seen my work published in as far away as China.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No career path is smooth, and mine was no exception. There was some rejection along the way, but honestly far more acceptance and favorable reviews of my Work. Back in the Day, commercial photography was more difficult overall. Before digital photography, we were required to mail photographic slides (which in themselves took much more time and money than digital eventually would).

Sending those packages and Delivery Memos and keeping track of your work in multiple places was a nightmare. Eventually, digital technology made the entire process much easier. You could see your images in the Camera Back and not have to wait until they were developed to actually see what you got. You could also email images now, a much more streamlined way to send work and making it much easier to know where it was at all times.

But my biggest struggle started in 1989 when my Nissan 280 ZX sports car was “sandwiched” on I-95 in Miami between a Van from behind and a car directly in front. The impact sent my glasses into the dashboard, where they stuck into place. It was so hard that it creased both sides of my vehicle. The next day, my left arm and hand became numb. I started dropping things from that hand (I still do to this day).

I felt numbness and pain immediately, and there began a decades-long (til the present time) journey of Doctor’s therapies. medications, tests, Surgeons/Surgeries, Injections, x-rays, CT scans, MRI, Chiropractors, and Acupuncture. I even recently tried (PRP) Platelet Rich Plasma which removes a significant amount of your own blood, spins it in a high-speed machine, and injects it back into your spine.

This has been the majority of my adult life: daily, continuous, and usually intense pain. There have been plenty of times that I could not walk, sometimes short distances, sometimes not at all. My Photography has been the one thing that has been consistent in my life (other than my children and grandchildren) that has kept me going. That has given me a reason to plow through the pain to try and capture the most beautiful images I can and to continue to have them recognized, awarded, published, exhibited, and collected.

Even though I have an impressive body of work, I have not been able to visit hard-to-reach locations. There has been no Mountain climbing for me. Many times I drive to a precarious location and shoot through the window of my vehicle to get the winning shots. The last year or so was actually the worst it has been, in a long time, if not since the start.

Then, at the start of this year, desperate to avoid more surgery, I was able to locate a Doctor here in Colorado who recommended spinal decompression and laser therapy. Now, after two months of continuous therapy, for the first time in as long as I can remember, I have had significant relief from my Back pain.

I finally have reason to hope that it will provide additional relief and allow me to seek more and better photographs… to bring me back some normalcy as I remember back when I was a budding young Artist without having to worry about daily, agonizing pain. To enjoy the incredible natural beauty of Colorado and what I can do to celebrate and share that beauty for all to see throughout the State, the rest of the country, and the world.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My work has evolved into three distinct categories which I will add to regularly increasing each long-running Series.

Land, Sea, and City Scapes: Landscapes throughout the Country as I travel. From Maine in the Northeast, Florida in the Southeast, the entire California Coast, and north into Alaska and Canada. Seascapes from years of living in Florida and trips along New England, as well as the entire West Coast of the United States.

In the last couple of years, I have added images from the Arizona Deserts and a new perspective by flying and shooting with a photographic Drone. Finally, Cityscapes. Mostly in New York City, but some images of Chicago, Miami, and anywhere else I visited, usually for one of my Gallery Exhibitions.

The lighting on the buildings creates beautiful forms and shapes from which I create iconic images themselves. My “Cab Ride in the Rain” was purchased by Ogilvy and Mathers for one of their main offices. Knowing that they have hundreds of Photographers on their payroll, I considered that a great Honor.

Animals: In my ongoing Series, Of the Wild, I capture animal portraits up close and personal so that the entire frame is filled with the animals’ faces. Impactful and iconic, they remind the viewer why these magnificent creatures need to be protected.

I use formerly wild animals for this series, which have been placed in some type of high-end, spacious refuge or even zoo-like enclosure so that they have the ability to run around and feel comfortable in my presence (which can be for several hours) so that I can eventually capture an almost human-like expression on their face.

Last is my Series of Jellyfish Portraits entitled: FLOW: Vivid colors, fluid shapes, and sizes, I shoot these through glass in Jellyfish Tanks in various Aquariums around the U.S. My images have been in magazines around the Country and called “magnificent” by Dr. Sylvia Earle, Nat Geo’s foremost expert on these illusive, beautiful, but sometimes deadly Creatures.

I have sold my work to collectors throughout the U.S. and as far away as Australia, and I have seen my work published online as far away as China. The work is available as framed Fine Art Prints, behind Acrylic, as Canvas Gallery Wraps, and mounted and/or framed in some custom materials.

I am most proud of how I have scaled the difficult ladder of Fine Art Photography based on hard work and talent alone. I am completely self-taught as both a Photographer and on the business side. I pride myself on making images in new and iconic ways, finding where mood and elements collide, and creating ethereal scenes and moments in time never to be repeated.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
Many luminaries in the photography world have written about my work:

-Cindy Rowe, Manager of Art Production for Saatchi and Saatchi LA (http://www.saatchila.com/)(part of a global creative communications company with 114 offices in 67 countries and over 6500 employees. Saatchi & Saatchi is part of the Publicis Groupe, the world’s third largest communications group) who said: “Your beautiful images take me away.”

-Chris Pichler, Publisher of Nazraeli Press (http://www.nazraeli.com/)(publishes fine art photography books for Michael Kenna, Lee Friedlander, etc.) said: “Spectacular, the images are stunning,”

-Joyce Tenneson (http://www.tenneson.com/) is one of the most iconic Photographers in the world with more than 150 exhibitions of her work. Ms. Tenneson called the work: “beautiful, gorgeous” and wrote that Barry was “a great photographer.”

-Joe Farace (http://joefarace.com/) is a respected Photographer and Photography critic. Joe wrote in SHUTTERBUG Magazine (https://www.shutterbug.com/) that Barry’s work: “… never fails to dazzle with understated yet inherently graceful attempts at depicting nature… a talented photographer confronted by a different genre rises to the occasion. He’s created insightful works of great authority and style.”

-Dr. Sylvia A. Earle, (http://on.natgeo.com/)1iclRSr National Geographic Society Explorer-in-Residence, is one of the foremost authorities on Jellyfish in the world. Dr. Earle who has been called “Her Deepness” by the New Yorker and the New York Times, “Living Legend” by the Library of Congress, and first “Hero for the Planet” by Time magazine, remarked upon viewing Barry’s Jellyfish images that they were “magnificent.”

-Robert Farber’s (http://www.farber.com/) photographic style has influenced generations of photographers. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis brought Farber into Doubleday, and the resulting book (his first of ten) won the Art Director’s Award for color photography.

Besides lecturing at numerous universities and professional groups, he has done so at the Smithsonian Institute and the George Eastman House. Barry was honored when Robert attended the Artist Reception at his solo exhibition on Central Park West in New York City and simply stated that “the work was beautiful.”

-Basil O’Brien, the awards Creative Director, International Color Awards (https://www.colorawards.com/): It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the 6,178 entries we received this year,” said. “Barry Steven Greff’s “Pelican’s Rest,” is an exceptional image entered in the Silhouette category and represents contemporary color photography at its finest.”

–Trendhunter.com and http://bit.ly/2hlxsmL: “The remarkable Barry Steven Greff ‘Of the Wild’ photography series is an amazing illustration of nature photography. The majestic animals are perfectly aimed, lit, and captured. Greff, an accomplished photographer in the fine art/commercial realm, portrays the animal’s portraits in a straight-on, fierce and awe-inspiring manner. The very matter-of-fact photography is truly an incredible collection of the very best of nature and the animal kingdom.

The jaw-dropping photography has earned Greff some prestigious awards and nominations throughout his career. Among some noted accomplishments include the Popular Photography Magazine 2010 award in the category of Great Wildlife Photographers and the International Photography Awards of 2008.”

-2010 Editors Choice PDN (Photo District News) -Paula Gillen is the former photo editor at Forbes Life Mountain Time Magazine and currently a photo consultant at Gillen Edits (http://www.gillenedits.com/) and recommends the work of photographer Barry Steven Greff. Barry’s commercial work has been published for editorial and advertising use, and his fine artwork has been recognized in numerous international juried competitions and has been exhibited widely.

He has received accolades from major forces in the publishing and advertising fields as well as from other very significant photographers. He is a forceful new talent on the scene. My experience working with Barry has been a pleasure He is a professional, dedicated, and creative individual. The images speak for themselves.

-Meredith Marlow Interior Design (http://meredithmarlow.com/) – I have used Barry Greff’s amazing Fine Art photography prints for clients. I can truly say that they were beyond expectations. He is extremely professional and can assist with framing and size recommendations. His work is top-notch if you are looking for something special for your home or office. ”

I have collaborated with other Artists, Musicians, Publishers, Editors, Writers, Interior Designers, etc., and look forward to adding any of the readers of this Article to my very special family of Collectors.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.barrystevengreff.com
• Instagram: @barrystevengreff
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barry.greff
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barry-greff-7a315312/
• Twitter: @barry_greff